In an interview with the Times, special investigator Eva Joly, currently trying to get to the bottom of what caused the bank collapse in Iceland last fall, compared the situation to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi sceme.
“The Icelandic central bank made it quite clear in 2007 that it would not be able to stand behind its banks if they had problems,” she said. “There were other analysts, too, who pointed out all the obvious problems. It was exactly like Madoff — the warnings were there.”
As more homes of businessmen have been raided, and about 50 people brought in for questioning so far, the root causes of the banking crisis are still yet to be determined. Also problematic is where activities were illegal, and where they were just unwise.
“I am very confident that with the rules we have, we will be able to do the job,” said Joly. She added: “There is very often a thin line between bad business and criminal business.”
(Photo: Tu.no)